


Another Quiet Day

by OtterlyDeerlightful



Series: Lifemates AU [10]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: Loneliness, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 12:52:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11036562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtterlyDeerlightful/pseuds/OtterlyDeerlightful
Summary: The lair is quiet, as are the children in the town above. It is a slow, peaceful sort of day.  So why does Robbie Rotten feel so...empty?





	Another Quiet Day

It was still, quiet, calm. Even the children above were silent today, more than likely due to the late snow that had been steadily falling for the past few hours. The entire lair seemed like it could be summed up in that classic description of all-encompassing silence: you could hear a pin drop.

_Ping!_

Apparently that had been the correct assumption.

Robbie bent down to retrieve the miniscule metal shaft. He stuck it back into the tomato-shaped cushion by his side and continued to work. He plucked another pin from the fabric and set it alongside its awaiting twin before moving onto the next. One more outfit was done, at least. Milford had been lucky that Robbie already had Ms. Busybody’s measurements on file from a previous commission or his surprise gift would have had to have been a lot less of a surprise. Robbie held up the garment to look over the details of the dress one more time. Yes, everything was in place and as it should be, from the scooped neckline to the carefully crafted waist accent, right down to the slightly flared pleats below. The man gave the piece his approval and decided to call it finished. He stood up, his spine sounding like a small chorus of popcorn as he did so, and hung the dress on his short rack of completed outfits.

“Well, that’s done,” the man mumbled to no one. “Now what?”

A look around the underground lair didn’t yield many options. Robbie was now caught up on his clothing commissions, so there was no more of that for the time being. He could make a cake, but one was still waiting to be finished off from that morning. There was always the option to tinker with his half-conceived inventions or sift through his store of partially-finished disguises but…the motivation just wasn’t there. He _could_ try and make something new but his inspiration seemed to have flown south for the winter. Besides, why bother? There was no point in creating elaborate disguises, characters, or traps lately. There was no one to make them _for_ anymore.

For lack of anything else to do, Robbie sighed and made his way across the room, shoulders hunched as his lost himself to his thoughts. He started over toward his orange chair. The beloved piece of furniture looked like it was reaching its furry arms out toward him, longing to reclaim the town villain’s attention. He sighed, readying himself for comfort when, without warning, he felt his feet slide out from under him. The orange of his chair disappeared from view; his vision went white for a split second before Robbie found himself staring up at the various beams and pipes that made up his lair’s busy ceiling. The back of his head hurt.

“Ugh. What in the…?”

He forced his aching body to sit up so he could figure out what had just happened. It didn’t take long to solve the all-encompassing mystery when Robbie spotted the loose strip of shining fabric sitting innocently beside his shoe. He glared at the malicious strip of silken blue a moment before snatching it up in his fist.

“What was that? Revenge for dropping you at some point?” Robbie accused.

The fabric said nothing in response.

Robbie groaned, leaning on his knees and digging the heels of his hands into his ever-weary eyes. “Good heavens I’m talking to _scraps_!” he wailed. His voice faintly echoed back to his ears, bouncing off of the plethora of metal in his cavern of a home. His hands dropped to his lap. “Who am I talking to?” he asked in a much more somber tone than a moment ago.

He looked around again, taking stock of his surroundings. He quickly came to an unfavorable conclusion. “This place is a dump.”

It was true; the scrap of silk he had slipped on was only the tip of the cluttered iceberg. There were bits of ribbon and frayed fabric corners all over his work area, his tinkering station seemed to have started sprawling across half of his main room like an alien organism in a horror movie, and the rest of his residence was occupied by various food wrappers and stray plates. The only pristine portion of his primary quarters appeared to be his still-waiting armchair and the forlorn-looking exercise bike that stood only a few feet beyond. Robbie tried not to look at the abandoned piece of exercise equipment.

“I guess I should try and tidy things up a bit,” he muttered decisively. “Can’t have the neighbors talking.”

What neighbors? It wasn’t like he ever had much in the way of guests. The last person to visit had been Pixel a few weeks ago, and that was mostly to ask for help with some computer troubles he had been having on his latest pet project. It had been nice to see the boy, Robbie admitted, but he wasn’t much of an entertainer and the visit had ended up being far shorter than he would have liked. He didn’t get to talk about his creations as much as he liked anymore, especially with someone of compatible expertise. Still, the temporary company had been nice while it lasted.

The man moved about the lair’s main room to collect any remnants of food wrappers and fast food containers. He had to go about this logically, after all. Compartmentalize. Get rid of the literal trash first, then go from there. He hated having garbage strewn about his living spaces…how had the problem gotten this bad without him noticing the issue sooner?

“ _Blech_ ,” he gagged, finding part of a rotting hamburger in a little cardboard box on his work bench. “Oh that is _disgusting_! Robbie, you slob!” He threw it in the trash immediately.

Next came the odds and ends from his commissions. Picking up dropped buttons and sorting them to their proper homes, sweeping the tiny bits of thread, fabric, and stray sequins together for easier pickup. He loved creating outfits. It centered him; it was the closest thing he had to meditation. Lately, though, it had become harder and harder to… _care_. His fingers created pieces from muscle memory, but his heart and mind no longer seemed concerned with the activity. It was something to do during the hours he was awake; that was all.

Dressmaking and costume design had treated him well for years. It was a nice, quiet, low-energy activity that allowed him to express himself so easily, to bring something new into the world…make the planet a little less empty and a little more beautiful all at once. Somehow, though, his nearby rack of colorful commissions didn’t excite him like he knew they should. The outfits might sparkle, but his eyes no longer did. Not since his lair had fallen so silent.

Robbie picked up one plate, then another. He shifted their accompanying forks on the topmost of his dishware and made his way to the kitchen. Hot, soapy water soon filled the sink. The once-villain equipped himself with a pair of thick latex gloves and began to silently scrub away at the leftover food particles that had claimed each plate’s surface as its permanent home.

Years ago Robbie would have _loved_ for his lair and the town above to be so peacefully silent. No children scurrying around overhead, no worries in the world, no disturbances to his routine of creating, napping, eating, and consuming mindless entertainment. Lazy Town’s hero had put an end to that lifestyle, forcing the man to go _out_ and continually try and get all those brats to keep quiet so he could get back to his perfect life. It didn’t take long for his new routine to completely blot out his old one. It had felt like the end of the world. Or, at least, Robbie’s world. Everything familiar had been stolen from him, replaced with noise and chaos and uncertainty.

But life kept going whether he had liked it or not, and Robbie had adapted in time. Even if he hadn’t exactly been willing. A new norm of disguises and schemes and traps emerged and, after a while, the villain truly relished his role in the town. He didn’t hate the bouncing blue elf so much, even though he had pretended to in order to keep in line with their designated roles and daily routines. Robbie wasn’t sure exactly when or how those initial feelings of hate and even dread had metamorphosed into anticipation and glee. He really began to like showing off his creations, showing his previously untapped skills as a talented actor, and…occasionally having the children seem to enjoy his presence for a time.

But those days felt so far away now. Lazy Town was quiet again and Robbie had his total privacy given back to him. By all accounts, he should be happy to have things return to how they were once upon a time, have the good old days back again. But…it felt different this time. The empty silence didn’t feel like a warm and comfortable blanket over his life; instead, it felt like a heavy weight trying to squash him out of existence. What had changed in the world to make the once-familiar seem so alien?

The man set the last off the dishes gently into the final open slot of his crying rack. At least there had been enough room for everything. He took off his gloves as the sink drained and he dropped them unceremoniously on the edge of the basin before heading back to the lair’s main room. Although he knew he probably needed to dedicate at least a full day—potentially up to a week, judging by the mess’ size—to organizing his tinkering corner, Robbie did his best to at least shove all of his contraptions and half-finished projects back to the general vicinity of his workbench. He was panting by the time he decided to take a break. Robbie was fairly certain he had exerted far more energy in the past two hours than he had in the previous two months and his body was letting him know it.

The overly long interruption to his day finally addressed in full, Robbie turned his attention back to his original goal: relaxation. He let his body drop into the welcoming embrace of shaggy orange fur. He nuzzled  his cheek into the chair and closed his eyes, taking in its homey scent. He ran his palms gently over the chair’s soft arms. Familiarity. An orange-colored constant in his life, always there for him. Robbie, perhaps for the first time that day, allowed himself to smile. Then he opened his eyes.

The exercise bike watched him with its judgmental gaze. His smile faded. The bike sat empty and unused, a fine layer of dust barely visible even for those searching for it. But it was there. Robbie sat up in his chair, his left hand drifting to his chest. He had heard about the concept of heartache in one form or another for most of his life, but he hadn’t realized how accurate the term actually was until he had experienced it himself. An unwelcome, heavy discomfort sitting in the middle of his chest. He was never quite sure if the pain that often accompanied that sensation was physical or psychosomatic, but in the end he knew it didn’t really matter which was correct. Either way, it hurt. Robbie swallowed, looking down at his hand. There was a new twinge on his heart at the sight. He sniffled quietly, then traced the smooth surface of the pale blue ring resting on his finger.

Robbie had never been the best when it came to any real social situation…it was easier to just avoid them altogether whenever possible. In his old life, before Lazy Town adopted its flippity-floppity mascot, Robbie would have loved to be left alone to his own devices at home for weeks at a time. It was easier than the alternative. The once-villain had often been alone growing up, alone as he carved out a life under the town. But now…he was lonely. His heart ached because it—because Robbie—was lonely, and the one person he needed to make that feeling go away wasn’t there. And he missed him.

Robbie continued to lightly stroke his wedding band in an attempt to fill the hole that the horrid feeling of loneliness was digging inside of him. He sniffled and gave a slight involuntary shiver. “I miss you, you stupid kangaroo,” he mumbled quietly. No one heard him.

There was a rattling somewhere inside the pipes above his head and all that the former villain could do in response was utter a ragged, fatigued sigh. He hoped nothing was broken up there; he was too tired—in every sense of the word—to deal with whatever problem his home was trying to cook up right now. There was another soft ping from above before Robbie felt something hit him in the still-slightly-aching head.

“What the—?!” he cried in surprise, automatically reaching for the top of his head.

Robbie hadn’t been sure what he expected to find, but a paper airplane stuck in his hair certainly hadn’t been on his list of possibilities. Robbie was confused for only a fraction of a second before he realized what he was holding. A bright, toothy smile spread across his face in a flash as he hastily unfolded the beautiful blue piece of paper.

“Mail!” he cried excitedly. “I haven’t heard….it’s been so long!” he whined to himself in sheer delight before leaning forward to give the letter his complete attention.

  

> _My Dear Robbie,_
> 
>   _I am so sorry for not writing you more letters. I promise you that I will do better. I miss you very much. I am fine and Stephanie is training very hard. I am very proud of her. She is going to be a great hero! She sends you her love, too._
> 
> _I hope you have been well and eating something besides only cake. I miss your cooking. Have you made any new inventions since I have been away? I cannot wait to see them! What about disguises? I would love to hear about the new characters you have created. You are so imaginative, Robbie! I miss hearing about all of your ideas and creations. I use the gloves you made for me every day. It is nice to have a part of you here with me._
> 
> _Speaking of which, I have wonderful news, Robbie! I spoke with the Council and they said that I will be able to come home for our anniversary in a few weeks! I am so excited to be able to see you again! I cannot wait to be able to be with you and hear about everything you have been up to. I will send another letter once the Council lets me know how long Stephanie and I will be able to stay._
> 
> _I cannot wait to see you again. I miss you more than I can stand. I miss your voice and I miss watching your movies with you. I kiss my wedding ring every night. It may sound silly, but I hope that you can feel it somehow. I love you, Robbie. I will write again as soon as I can. Tell the children I say hello._
> 
> _I love you forever and ever,_
> 
> _Sportacus_

 

Robbie wiped his cheeks, pretending that he didn’t understand how his skin had gotten so moist. He curled up in his chair, knees to his chest, and read his letter again. Then again. His stupid elf missed him. And loved him. Robbie held the letter close to his chest and let out a reluctant choking sob. Sportacus was coming home. He was actually coming home. Robbie sniffled and looked around his lair. There was still a lot of cleaning to do before his husband arrived. The man carefully folded the beautiful blue paper and tucked it into his breast pocket before standing up.

He had a lot of work ahead of him.


End file.
